Ethiopian Airlines' overall expansion initiatives and airport projects are essential for improving connections both inside and outside of Africa, which support regional integration, economic growth, and development. More importantly, the airline is renowned for not only preparing unimaginable plans, goals, and ambitions, but also for finishing them earlier than expected. Here, it is imperative to examine Ethiopian Airlines' plans, intentions, and accomplishments over the last few years is crucial in this regard.
According to Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO Mesfin Tassew, indeed, Ethiopian Airlines has been able to create a long-term strategy since 2004. For the first time, an outside consultant created a five-year strategy between 2004 and 2005. It was unanimously approved by the board and management.
The strategy was termed Vision 2010, and its main goal was to double income in five years. It was expected to become a billion-dollar firm by 2010. Nobody believed it at the time because it was a well-established airline with a revenue of only $500 million (2005). However, employees did not believe that they could double their salary in five years, and management was doubtful. But it began with the purpose to make it happen. As promised, in 2010, that success was realized, with an annual income of more than one billion dollars. This pushed all of the organization's employees to plan more and work diligently, he explained.
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Taking the lessons and experiences from past plans, the airline prepared a new 15-year strategic roadmap to secure the company's rapid expansion. However, the country did not accomplish this by hiring external consultants; rather, the airlines utilized the organization's capacities, resources, and so on. As a result, it created the 15-year plan known as "Vision 2025."
As a result, the airlines implement the strategy to make Vision 2025 a reality. On June 30, it fulfilled the goal it set for "2025" and continues to expand by double digits annually. "We had hoped to increase our aircraft count to about 110 when we prepared our original plan. But we have more than 149 aircraft currently. Additionally, we planned to reach 100 destinations, but now we have more than 135. Hence, the organization has exceeded its 2025 goals in a variety of ways, including passenger numbers and other indicators. This demonstrates that Ethiopian Airlines has contributed significantly to its success by establishing a vision, developing a long-term strategy, and putting it into action. Taken collectively, these can be regarded as the reasons for the airline's current success."
Here, another topic that needs to be addressed in this situation is why Ethiopian Airlines is constructing a new airport in Bishoftu. What are the nation's economic gains from it? What fresh prospects would the new airport present for Ethiopia and Africa?
As stated by Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO Mesfin Tassew, "Previously, there was an independent institution known as Ethiopian Airports Enterprise. This enterprise was responsible for airport construction, expansion work, and maintenance services, while Ethiopian Airlines operated solely as an airline and paid for its services. We have been doing this for many years. Nevertheless, as I previously stated, we have been quickly developing since 2005. We are purchasing more planes and adding new destinations, but the airport industry has not risen at our pace. We have run out of aircraft stopping places."
However, Airport Enterprises was making an effort to improve, but our pace was not up to par. As a result, Ethiopian Airlines contacted the government and held talks. As a result, the airlines proposed taking over the project and beginning to develop and construct airports. When the airlines took over the existing terminal, it was handling up to six million passengers per year. However, after investing over 450 million dollars in expansion work, the airlines capacity was more than doubled. Now, its capacity has increased to 25 million passengers. Even in this fiscal year, it provided over 19 million passengers, he highlighted.
Understanding and projecting the increasing number of passengers, the airlines performed a study to determine whether the Addis Ababa international airport might be expanded further. The study found that the current airport could not keep up with the airline's growth. As a result, it hired a French company to research potential locations for a new airport. According to the company's research, the optimum location for airport construction is Abusera, which is near Bishoftu. it also completed a preliminary master plan and feasibility assessment for us. When the feasibility study was confirmed and completed, COVID-19 struck and stalled the project. As a result, the airlines have examined and finished the study.
Accordingly, "the new airport will be capable of transporting up to 110 million passengers per year, but our current capacity is only 20 million." So we decided to divide the construction into two phases. We began construction to make it capable of transporting 60 million passengers in the first phase. Since we need to resettle the farmers in the area where the construction is taking place, we talked to the Bishoftu administration and advised them on what kind of houses and jobs they would need, and then we started construction. The construction will be completed in September. The people are moving to their new homes and new jobs. We have taken over the land from the regional government where the airport will be built. As soon as they have finished their work, the construction of the new airport will begin around the end of November."
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He confirmed that "We will move completely to the new airport in five years (2029). The new airport will be the best in Africa in terms of quality and size. We believe it will be better than countries that have built big airports. This will bring Africa's aviation industry to the level of the rest of the world. We will see this and that in five years."
Ethiopian Airlines has actually been on a strong expansion trajectory in recent years to solidify its position as the leading airline in Africa and a major player in international aviation. Additionally, Ethiopian Airlines prioritizes customer service, operational efficiency, and global expansion in order to place among the top five airlines in Africa by 2025. Therefore, the construction of the new airport is compulsory to maintain these achievements and raise Africa's aviation industry to the level of the rest of the globe.
BY EPHREM ANDARGACHEW
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SUNDAY EDITION 31 AUGUST 2025
